54 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP WITH JAPAN

The Australia Japan Association of SA Inc. was founded in 1967, more than 54 years ago, by Toyohiro Tanaka to foster and promote friendship and understanding between the people of Australia and of Japan.  It is still doing that today, although with changing times we see more of Japanese people who are in Australia to study or have a working holiday than those in business and representing Japanese companies. However, everyone is welcome, and our membership reflects a wide range of people, whose common interest is in some way connected with Japan.

If you have an interest in Japan, have been to Japan or want to go there, if you are Japanese with a similar interest in Australia, and you want to make new friends, an AJA conversation meeting is the place to go.

AJA holds conversation meetings monthly. Here Australians and Japanese (and many others these days) of all ages meet to socialise, make some useful contacts and communicate in each other’s language.

Nowadays about 25-30 people attend our meetings and many friendships are formed in a pleasant café atmosphere where coffee or a meal is readily available. Formality is minimal and meetings end when the last people go home.  Some meetings run to a theme, such as a Melbourne Cup Hat night, a Kimono night, a quiz or even a “Talk like a Pirate” night.  Periodically our “Fine Dining Club” organises dinners at various restaurants for the culinary inclined!

 

As you browse our website you will find information about our activities), our calendar of events and our 54 year history. As well as casual conversation meetings twice a month, AJA is strongly involved every year in a Japanese Cultural Day at Burnside Library in July and participates in many events such as  OzAsia, Australia Day Parade and others. There are also links to other Australia Japan Societies all around Australia, which you may wish to visit while travelling.

 

One special page is an archive for past issues of Harmony, a quarterly newsletter no longer in production, which has documented many of our activities. If your friends ask you what AJA is about, the pictures and stories in them will give a fair indication.

 

Members and Contacts also receive the AJA Bulletin regularly, usually a few days before the next conversation meeting, but also when there is special or urgent news.

 

If you come along to an AJA meeting for a visit and like what you see, then become a member!  However, membership is not a prerequisite for any of our activities, although we hope you will want to belong and enjoy the discount that members gain at dinners and BBQs.  Full membership fees are  $20.00, and concession $10.00.

 

If you want more details of meetings, contact Kyoko at ajaofsa@gmail.com.